Traditionally, straw and other bulk agricultural products have been embaled in rectangular parallepiped bales of a size which can be manually handled. More recently, however, so-called "round" bales have been used, with increasing frequency, to store bulk agricultural products such as hay, silage and straw. Round bales are formed by gathering the bulk product in a generally cylindrical container to form a large cylindrical body which may weigh between 150 and 200 kilograms (for less dense materials such as straw) and 1000 kilograms (in the case of more dense materials such as silage). Such bales cannot readily be manipulated by hand although certain limited movements, such as tipping or rolling of the bales can be effected.
Prior art bale shredding apparatus comprises a cylindrical upwardly open drum rotatable about a vertical axis and having a cutter in or forming the lower end of the drum. This requires the use of separate equipment to raise a bale to be introduced into the drum through the open upper end.